The United States of America : to all to whom these letters patent shall come.

  • Jackson, Charles T. (Charles Thomas), 1805-1880.
Date:
[1846?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The United States of America : to all to whom these letters patent shall come. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    patient, and his nostrils stopped or closed in such manner as to cause him to inhale air through the bottle, and to exhale it through the neck, and out of the valve on the outside of the neck. The air thus breathed by passing in contact with the sponge will be charged with the etheric vapors, which will be conveyed by it into the lungs of the patient. This will soon produce the state of insensibility or nervous quiet re- quired. In order to render the ether agreeable to various persons, we often combine it with one or more essential oils having pleasant perfumes. This may be effected by mixing the ether and essential oil, and wash- ing the mixture in water. The impurities will subside, and the ether, impregnated with the perfume, will rise to the top of the water. We sometimes combine a narcotic preparation, such as opium or morphine, with the ether. * m This may be done by any ways known to chemists by which a com- bination of etheric and narcotic vapors may be produeed. After a per- son has been put into the state of insensibility, as above described, a surgical operation may be performed upon him without, so far as repeated experyiients have proved, giving to him any apparent or real pain, or so little, in comparison to that produced by the usual process of con- ducting surgical operations, as to be scarcely noticeable. There is very nearly, if not entire absence of all pain. Immediately, or soon after the operation is completed, a restoration of the patient to his usual feel- ings takes place, without, generally speaking, his having been sensible of the performance of the operation. From the experiments we have made we are led to prefer the vapors of sulphuric ether to those of muriatic or other kind of ether, but any such may be employed which will properly produce the state of insen- sibility without any injurious consequences to the patient. We are fully aware that narcotics have been administered to patients undergoing surgical operations, and, as we believe, always by intro- ducing them into the stomach. This we consider in no respect to em- body our invention, as we operate through the lungs and air passages, and the effects produced upon the patient are entirely, or so far differ- ent as to render the one of very little, while the other is of immense utility. The consequences of the change are very considerable, as an immense amount of human or animal suffering can be prevented by the application of our discovery. What we claim as our invention is the herein before described means by which we are enabled to effect the above highly important improve- ment in surgical operations, viz., by combining therewith the applica- tion of ether, or the va$or thereof, substantially as above specified. In testimony whereof we have hereto set our signatures this twenty- seventh day of October, A. D. 1846. CHARLES T. JACKSON, WM. T. G. MORTON. Witnesses—R. H. Eddy, W. H. Leighton.